Ovreheating in my 308 GT4

hadn't started the car in a few days. drove a couple miles, and when I shut down the car, steam was coming out of the engine. The steam was not coming from the resoivoir, or the cap. It was coming from from the engine lost some coolant as well, again not coming from the resorvioir, but from the bottom of the engine bay, forward of the tank. No noise when the engine was running (other than a hisssing sound of the water overboiling or hitting some other part.); (had a similiar problem with my old lincoln but the fan was loose and made a noise, turned out needed a new water pump).

Temperature was high, for just a couple of miles (but not redline or even close.

had the coolant system bled 2 1/2 months and 900 miles ago.

all belts seem to be on and tight.

could I be really low on fluid (check it regularly but, I suppose there could be alot of air in the system, or could there be in just two months?)

what s' the diagnotics, differential diagnosis? thanks.

 

well I can see that the water is not coming from the overflow hose off the reservior; that hose is only about 9 inches and drops straight down from the tank. the water is leaking a foot forward of that, which is why I'm concerned that it's water pump related. I'll try bleeding the system later, but I'm thinking that if it's not coming from the cap or the tank, then doesn't it have to be water pump related or at least some kind of fitting to or from the water pump.

 

UPDATE:

just got back from home. first, I backed the car up on a slope so I could get a better look at what's going on. then, with the engine off I opened the radiator bleed screw and removed the radiator cap; plent of air came out. tank was alittle low of fluid from previous loss of fluid, not much maybe half a pint.
then I started the engine, with bleeding screw open at first and then closed it after water started coming out, but kept the radiator cap off; tank emptied, and put in more water, got a continous leak, it's not the expansion tank; since the radiator is in the front and the expansion tank is a foot behind where the leak is, seems to me it has to be 1. the water pump or 2. some hose that goes to it.
with the engine on it was a pretty continous leak, more than drops but less than gushing. put in two gallons of water and it lost say another quarter pint with the engine running for 10 minutes or so.
some of the leak was on the passanger side of the exhaust pipe, but most was on the driver side; it was dribbling down the oil pan. No squeaks, and the water temp never got to redline, or even heated up, but I didn't race the engine.

also I could see that the steam was being caused by the water falling on the exhaust pipe, perhaps among other parts.


so I conclude the following:
1. I had air in the system
2. It was probably pretty low on cooling fluid

and either
3. I've got a bad seal or something else wrong with the pump
or

4. some hose is loose or like you said it's worn out.

is there another operating diagnostic test that I could rule out the water pump?

here's what I'd like to know:

couldn't see much from under the car (but I don't have a lift, just some plastic sloping things which I can drive my car onto.) and couldn't see much from top because of the engine and the air filter cover (wouldn't mind if someone could tell me how to remove the base so I could get a look at some of the carb adustment screws per another thread);

is there a better way to visaully diagnose the problem, say through the right passanger rear well? and is that how the hoses are changed? or is it through underneath the car?

also, if it's just hoses, can any good mechanic change them?
If it's the water pump, what's the deal in terms of cost, new versus rebuild? thanks.
One of the reasons I want to rule out the water pump (aside from the obvious cost) is that I suppose I'll need a ferrari competent mechanic to change that, where the hose, as I said, I was hoping any good pair of hands could do that job. thanks for the advice.

 

how do you fix those leaks, once you find them? some kind of sealant additive to the liquid. That's how I fixed a leak in my lincoln.

 

ok I've progressed somewhat:

I took off the pass rear wheel and the thing which hides the engine (not sure it's brain freeze or just don't know what it's called;

there are three places under the car which it's leaking;

1. in between the two timing covers there's I guess the watter pump; there appears to be a blue gasket between the two halves. water appears to be coming from the bottom most nut; but there are two leaks on the other side of the engine, which leads me to believe that what I'm seeing is not the primary leak or the leak at all;

the leak appears to come from higher; maybe some aluminun pipe or where the thermostat comes in or lateral to the driver side of that pipe and thermostat fitting.

don't have good visibility because of the bottom air filter cover. will try to remove the airfilter to visualize it better; that leak could be responsible for all three splatter patterns on the floor as it is probably hitting some other parts underneath and directly the water in different directions.
the leak is pretty big, much more than a few small drops, seem to increase when more gas is given, which is logical I guess.

 

"Of course, now you are here, you can see the Y junction for the water hoses which may also be a source of your water leak. Since you are this far, replace all the hoses (water and fuel) that you can see. It is very cheap, and easier than having to pull eveything apart again later.

Various people will have their own preference for what hoses to use, but unless you are going for originality (which will be expen$ive), just get the best quality hose that pep Boys has to offer in the correct sizes. Consider replacing all clamps with new ones also...."

that sounds like a pretty good idea, if I can do it; I guess I just take the old stuff over to an auto shop and ask them to match them. is there a part book on line which might have the part numbers which could be cross referenced?

 

well, with everyone's help and encouragement, I made considerable progress.

I managed to remove the carb tops, and the spacers which go in the bolt holes. I didn't remove the whole air filter assemby; it was attached to some kind of cloth pipe; an air vent I suppose. But I moved the assemby aside and got a good look at the water manifold and the hose forward of the thermostat on the top manifold (from the reservior I think).

visually it looked pretty crudy; the hose clamp was rusted and I could see that the clamp cut through the hose; the underside of the hose wet.
I started the engine to double check and that hose was leeking badly. it took me a while, but I finally managed to cut it off. the clamps were completed rusted;

the bottom one looks better, but the clamps are rusted as well, I guess all that dripping from the top hose. the bottom I left in so far, I'm concerned about the work area and whether I'll be able to put a hose on the bottom manifold.

I guess I'll take the old hose to o"reily's tomorrow (our pep boys, and get another hose; any specific type of hose I should look for?

since I've got the housing off I guess I'll try to adjust the idle to get to 900 or so. (in for a dime etc... ")

getting a new k&N air filter as well, on the same theory; and will probably flush out the whole cooling system, since that's the only fluid system I haven't changed since getting the car two months ago.

so far so good. many thanks. rick jaffe

 

well. I spent the whole eving working on the car; picked up some radiator hose from pep boys and cut it to fit. the bottom hose looked ok and I was really afraid of biting off more than I can chew. it took awhile to get the new hose on the top manifold. I was starting to think about bailing out and getting someone to do it; but it finally got on; ran the car for 25 minutes and no more leaks;

fixed the idle (per my air conditioning thread), since I had the air filter off, and added some more freon and got down to 52 degrees on an 80 degreee night. the hardest part puttting it back were those damm nuts on the carb tops. I'll do test drive tomorrow, but I'm optimistic that I worked through the problem. I think I'll flush the system and put distilled water and water wetter in over the weekend. thanks for the help, would never had tried it without the support here.

 

looks like I'm not quite done; see my new thread on taking a step backwards.